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Aramis Ramirez leads 5-way race at third in latest NL ballot for All-Star Game

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Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez has overtaken David Wright of the New York Mets at third base to lead a packed group of five third basemen separated by approximately 260,000 votes in the latest balloting update for the 85th All-Star Game, to be played on Tuesday, July 15th at Target Field in Minnesota. The final balloting update for the American League will be announced on Monday, June 30th, while the last N.L. balloting update will be announced on Tuesday, July 1st.

Ramirez, a two-time All-Star, has received 1,279,902 votes to lead seven-time All-Star Wright (1,260,895), two-time All-Star and 2012 starter Pablo Sandoval (1,194,607) of the San Francisco Giants, 2013 All-Star Matt Carpenter (1,049,472) of the St. Louis Cardinals and Nolan Arenado (1,019,161) of the Colorado Rockies. Ramirez, aiming for the first fan election of his career, would become the first Brewers third baseman to win a fan election. The 35-year-old native of the Dominican Republic is batting .297 with 10 home runs and 38 RBI on the season. Among N.L. third basemen, he is tied for third in home runs and ranks fourth in RBI. Wright, a five-time fan-elected starter, is looking to join Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt (eight fan elections) as the only N.L. third basemen to earn at least six fan-elected starting assignments. Sandoval would become the fourth infielder in Giants history to earn multiple fan elections, joining Will Clark (1988-91), Jeff Kent (2000-01) and Matt Williams (1994-96). Carpenter is aiming to become the third different Cardinal to earn a fan-elected start at the hot corner, joining Joe Torre (1971-72) and Scott Rolen (2002-05). Arenado, seeking his first All-Star selection, is vying to become the first third baseman in Rockies history to be selected a starter by the fans.

Ramirez's Milwaukee teammate Carlos Gomez (2,409,860) has jumped ahead of Giancarlo Stanton (2,130,519) of the Miami Marlins into third place among N.L. outfielders to join fellow leaders Yasiel Puig (2,468,376) of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Andrew McCutchen (2,461,722) of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Gomez, an All-Star for the first time in 2013, is seeking his first career fan election. He would join teammate Ryan Braun (2008-11) as the only Brewers outfielders to garner a fan election in franchise history. Gomez has reached base safely in 35 consecutive games, which marks the longest active streak in the Majors. During the stretch, he is batting .353 (49-for-139) with four home runs and 20 RBI. In addition, Gomez has hit safely in a career-best 18 straight contests, batting .325 (25-for-77) with a home run and nine RBI. The hitting streak is the longest by a Brewer this season. Among N.L. leaders this season, Gomez ranks fourth with 148 total bases, is tied for fourth with a .317 batting average and a .532 slugging percentage, tied for fifth with 50 runs scored, is sixth with 88 hits, tied for sixth with 34 extra-base hits and tied for eighth with 20 doubles.

Puig is seeking his first All-Star assignment in his second Major League season. The Cuban native would give the Dodgers a fan-elected outfielder in the All-Star Game for the fourth time in the last five years, following the elections of Andre Ethier (2010) and Matt Kemp (2011-12). Puig is tied for fourth in the N.L. with a .317 batting average, ranks fifth with a .409 on-base percentage and a .532 slugging percentage, and is tied for fifth with 26 multi-hit games. In addition, he ranks seventh in the N.L. with a .349 batting average with runners in scoring position, adding four home runs, a triple and nine doubles in those situations. McCutchen, bidding for his fourth All-Star selection and first fan-elected start, has hit safely in 17 of his last 20 games played. The reigning N.L. Most Valuable Player has a Major League-best 17 extra-base hits during the month of June, and he is three runs shy of 500 for his career. McCutchen would become the first Pittsburgh player to earn a fan election since outfielder Jason Bay in 2006, and could become just the seventh player in franchise history to garner a fan election, joining Bay, Barry Bonds (1992-93), Andy Van Slyke (1992-93), Dave Parker (1977-78, 1980-81), and Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente (1972) and Willie Stargell (1971-72). Following Stanton in fan balloting is Gomez's Milwaukee teammate and five-time All-Star Braun (1,974,845), and Charlie Blackmon (1,608,755) of the Rockies.

Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt has totaled 1,962,386 votes to increase his lead over four-time All-Star Adrian Gonzalez (1,239,509) of the Dodgers. Goldschmidt, who earned his first All-Star selection in 2013, leads the N.L. with 28 doubles and 43 extra-base hits, is tied for first with 92 hits and 165 total bases, ranks second with 52 RBI and 57 runs scored, third with a .552 slugging percentage, fourth with 27 multi-hit games, is tied for fifth with 15 home runs, is eighth with a .308 batting average and 10th with a .385 on-base percentage. He would become the first D-backs first baseman, and just the fourth player in franchise history, to earn a fan election. The other three to do so were second baseman Jay Bell (1999), third baseman Matt Williams (1999) and outfielder Luis Gonzalez (2001).

Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki continues to pace the N.L. with 3,287,460 votes, which also ranks second in the Majors behind A.L. leader Jose Bautista (3,665,208) of the Toronto Blue Jays. Tulowitzki, who is trailed by Milwaukee's Jean Segura (1,272,273), leads the Majors with a .360 batting average, .451 on-base percentage and .648 slugging percentage, and he is tied for first in the Majors with 58 runs scored. The three-time All-Star, who is bidding for his second consecutive fan election, would become the first N.L. shortstop to earn consecutive fan-elected starts since Hanley Ramirez accomplished the feat from 2008-10. Tulowitzki would also become just the third player in Rockies history to earn multiple fan elections, joining Todd Helton and Larry Walker, both of whom were voted a starter on three occasions. Tulowitzki, who earlier this evening was named N.L. captain for the 2014 Gillette Home Run Derby, also ranks second in the N.L. with 18 home runs, third with 160 total bases, fifth with 89 hits and is tied for fifth with 45 RBI.

Tulowtizki is joned up the middle by second baseman Chase Utley of the Philadelphia Phillies, who has received 2,090,110 votes. Utley, who leads Neil Walker (1,328,959) of the Pirates, is seeking his sixth All-Star selection and sixth fan election after earning fan-elected starting assignments in each season from 2006-10. His five fan elections trail only Schmidt (9) for the most in Phillies history, and the only other N.L. second basemen to draw more All-Star starts are Utley's manager Ryne Sandberg (9) and fellow Hall of Famer Joe Morgan (7). Utley is batting .300 on the season with five home runs, 33 RBI, 24 doubles and 40 runs scored, and he is seven hits shy of 1,500 for his career. Utley leads all N.L. second basemen in on-base percentage (.361) doubles and extra-base hits (32).

Rounding out the N.L. leaders is Cardinals backstop Yadier Molina (2,600,853), who remains ahead of Jonathan Lucroy (1,911,745) of the Brewers and Buster Posey (1,709,685) of the Giants. Molina has thrown out 15 of 31 runners attempting to steal this season for a Major League-best .484 percentage. The five-time All-Star and three-time fan-elected starter, who is attempting to earn his second consecutive fan-elected starting assignment, ranks second in the N.L. in balloting behind Tulowitzki. He would join Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith (12) and former teammate Albert Pujols (5) as the only players in Cardinals history to receive at least four fan-elected starts. The Cardinals have had at least one player elected to start in each of the last five seasons (2009-13), marking the longest active streak in the N.L.

With seven different teams currently represented among the eight leaders, this would mark the eighth time since fan balloting began in 1970 that the N.L. could have as many as seven different teams represented among the starting position players. The other years in which this has occurred include 1971, 1984, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2010. The N.L. has never had eight different teams represented among the eight positional leaders.

MLB's All-Star Balloting Program is the largest of its kind in professional sports. The last two years represent the two highest totals in balloting history, including a record 40.2 million ballots cast in 2012. More than 20 million Firestone All-Star ballots will be distributed at MLB's 30 ballparks, each of which will have 23 dates for balloting.

In addition, fans around the world can cast their votes for starters 25 times exclusively at MLB.com and all 30 Club web sites - online or via their mobile devices - with the 2014 All-Star Game MLB.com Ballot Sponsored by Experian. The All-Star Game MLB.com Ballot Sponsored by Experian is available in English and Spanish, and offers audio CAPTCHA functionality for visually-impaired fans. Banco BHD sponsors online All-Star balloting in the Dominican Republic, making Spanish-language ballots available to fans in the Dominican Republic via LasMayores.com, the official Spanish-language Web site of Major League Baseball.

Every Major League Club began its in-stadium balloting no later than May 12th. When the in-stadium phase of balloting concludes no later than June 26th, fans will have the opportunity to cast their ballots exclusively online at MLB.com, the 30 Club Web sites and their mobile devices until Thursday, July 3rd at 11:59 p.m. (EDT).

Firestone, the official tire of MLB, is once again the exclusive sponsor of the 2014 In-Stadium All-Star Balloting Program. The ballot features an All-Star sweepstakes, in which a winner will be rewarded with a trip for two to MLB All-Star Week, including airfare, hotel accommodations, tickets to the All-Star Game and other MLB All-Star Week events, and VIP on-field access to watch batting practice before the All-Star Game with an MLB legend.

For the sixth consecutive year, the ballot features the Home Run Derby Fan Poll. Fans have the opportunity to select three players in each League who they would most like to see participate in the 2014 Gillette Home Run Derby. The Fan Poll is also available online at MLB.com. The 2014 Gillette Home Run Derby, part of Gatorade All-Star Workout Day, will be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN HD, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Radio in the United States beginning at 8:00 p.m. (ET)/7:00 p.m. (CT) on Monday, July 14th. The 10 American League candidates are Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays; Carlos Beltran of the New York Yankees; Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers; Robinson Cano of the Seattle Mariners; 2013 Home Run Derby Champion Yoenis Cespedes of the Oakland Athletics; Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles; Prince Fielder of the Texas Rangers; All-Star Ambassador Joe Mauer of the Twins; David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox; and Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The 10 National League candidates are Pedro Alvarez of the Pittsburgh Pirates; Jay Bruce of the Cincinnati Reds; Paul Goldschmidt of the Arizona Diamondbacks; Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals; Jason Heyward of the Atlanta Braves; Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants; Yasiel Puig of the Los Angeles Dodgers; Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins; Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies; and David Wright of the New York Mets.

The 2014 American League and National League All-Star Teams will be unveiled on the 2014 MLB All-Star Game Selection Show during the weekend of July 5th-6th, with further details to follow. The A.L. All-Star Team will have nine elected starters via the fan balloting program, while the N.L. All-Star Team will have eight fan-elected starters. The pitchers and reserves for both squads - totaling 25 for the N.L. and 24 for the A.L. - will be determined through a combination of "Player Ballot" choices and selections made by the two All-Star managers - N.L. skipper Mike Matheny of the St. Louis Cardinals and A.L. manager John Farrell of the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox.

Immediately following the announcement of the American League and National League All-Star rosters, fans will begin voting to select the final player for each League's 34-man roster via the 2014 All-Star Game MLB.com Final Vote Sponsored by Experian. Fans will cast their votes from a list of five players from each League over the balloting period. Now in its 13th season with more than 430 million votes cast, fans again will be able to make their Final Vote selections on MLB.com, Club sites and their mobile phones.

This year's final phase of All-Star Game voting again will have fans participating in the official voting for the Ted Williams All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet. During the Midsummer Classic, fans will vote exclusively online at MLB.com and the 30 Club sites via the 2014 All-Star Game MLB.com MVP Vote Sponsored by Pepsi, and their collective voice will represent 20 percent of the official vote determining this year's recipient of the Arch Ward Trophy.

The 2014 All-Star Game will be played at Target Field on Tuesday, July 15th. The 85th All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 200 countries via MLB International's independent feed. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network, MLB.com and Sirius XM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com.